The St. John’s IceCaps played the second of three pre-season games on Friday night as part of the Colemans Cup against the Toronto Marlies.
After a poor turnout in Stephenville the night before, Corner Brook Civic Centre provided a much more lively atmosphere.
Hoping to avenge their shutout loss from the night before, the IceCaps shuffled their line-up a little, with Bobby Farnham taking the place of Nikita Scherbak, but a lot of big names remained scratched for a second night in a row.
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Tim Bozon | Daniel Audette | Markus Eisenschmid |
| Bobby Farnham | Mark MacMillan | Jeremy Gregoire |
| David Broll | Stefano Momesso | Yannick Veilleux |
| Connor Crisp | Phil DeSimone | Mathieu Corderre-Gagnon |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Philip Samuelsson | Jeremie Blain |
| Tom Parisi | Dalton Thrower |
| Justin Baker | Josiah Didier |
| Goaltenders |
| Zachary Fucale |
| Charlie Lindgren |
It was Connor Crisp who drew first blood for the IceCaps at 7:23 of the first period, receiving a pass from Phil DeSimone and Bobby Farnham on the goal. Shortly afterwards Mathieu Corderre-Gagnon and Daniel Maggio dropped gloves as the Marlies desperately tried to get some momentum before the game got away from them entirely. Later it was Trevor Moore challenging Josiah Didier to fight, and when Didier called his bluff and removed his helmet, Moore backed out. Both players received roughing minors in the process.
At the midway point of the game the IceCaps were their own worst enemy, by taking six consecutive minor penalties. David Broll went to the box twice, with Mathieu Corderre-Gagnon, Jeremy Gregoire, Crisp, Dalton Thrower, and Bobby Farnham all taking a seat as well. The Marlies scored three unanswered goals in less than four minutes on IceCaps starter Zachary Fucale, and the Marlies retreated to the dressing room up 3-1.
The IceCaps started the third period by killing off a five on three penalty, and bounced back strong with a series of chances. Tim Bozon tipped a shot from Jeremie Blain at 4:52 to bring the home team within one. They continued to pressure, and managed to tie the game at three on a Mark MacMillan goal.
A bad giveaway in the IceCaps zone unfortunately gave the lead right back to the Marlies a minute later, as Fucale over-committed to the oncoming threat and offered the entire top of the net for an easy goal.
That should have been enough for the Marlies, who appeared to demoralize the IceCaps. However three consecutive penalties to Toronto late in the third provided St. John’s with the opportunity to gain momentum, and equalize the score yet again. With a minute left Crisp scored his second goal during a goal mouth scramble, sending the game into overtime. Crisp’s three point night earned him the first star of the game.
MacMillan had the best chance for the IceCaps in overtime, but the Marlies recovered and scored seconds later on a rolling puck at 1:41, giving the Marlies the 5-4 victory, and the Colemans Cup along the way.
The IceCaps went two for five on the powerplay, while the Marlies capitalized once on six opportunities. Final shots were 39-29 for Toronto.
Scratches included Charles Hudon, Jacob de la Rose, Nikita Scherbak, Max Friberg, Stefan Matteau, Chris Terry, Ryan Johnston, Joel Hanley, Brett Lernout, and Mark Barberio.
The third and final game of the Coleman Cup exhibition series will be played on Sunday afternoon in Gander. This will be the final stop before the team heads back to St. John’s to complete their training camp.
